In his classic book Les Miserables, Victor Hugo often gets side-tracked from the story and enlightens us all with some deep (sometimes confusing) philosophy. While I haven’t always appreciated his digressions from the story plot, his thoughts are insightful.

Here is a quotes about what historians study (or should study) in his humble opinion:

“No man is a good historian of the open, visible, signal, and public life of the nations, if he is not, at the same time to a certain extent the historian of their deeper and hidden life; and no man is a good historian of the interior if he does not know how to be, whenever there is need, the historian of the exterior. The history of morals and ideas penetrates the history of the events, and vice versa… Since true history deals with everything, the true historian deals with everything.” (Hugo, Les Miserables, page 984, emphasis by yours truly).

In other words, historians can’t just look at the easy stuff like “oh there was a Civil War in America in 1861-1865.” They need to honestly consider why. And the answers are not always easy…they are vast and varied…and changing. (Just as a reminder the changing views of how historians look at and teach history is called “historiography” – how’s that for a big word?)

Miss Sarah and President Davis (re-enactor) at the Moorpark Civil War Re-enactment, 2012

If we are going to be honest with ourselves and with others, we must always tell the truth. And there is no exception for historians. We must “deal with everything” – the ideas, the religion, the society, the government, the individuals. That is history.

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About Sarah Kay Bierle

I’m Sarah Kay Bierle, historian, living history enthusiast, and historical fiction writer. When sharing history, I try to keep the facts interesting and understandable. History is about real people, real actions, real effects and it should inspire us today.

5 Responses to Victor Hugo’s Historian

Miss Sarah,
What a fine likeness of a pair of old souls you have displayed. The Hugo quote, is just about exactly where I have evolved. At the beginning it was all about dates, names, etc, then the what ifs. Now it is the how and why with the background of what was.
Look forward to more excellent conversations.

Correct, climout1200. Basically Historiography is the study or tracking of how historians study history. For example, right now, there is a lot of emphasis on cultural, women, and ethnic studies in the “university” history studies.